What Are the Differences Between Botox and Dysport?

Wrinkles may be a natural part of life and aging, but that doesn’t mean that we have to give way to them right from when they first appear in our lives. For millions of people, fighting back includes turning to simple, safe, and widely successful clinical interventions, most famously in the form of either Botox or something called Dysport.

Now we’re going to break down the details of each and hopefully smooth out your choices about how both of these treatments can smooth out your skin.

The Differences Between Botox and Dysport

A Quick Primer on Injectables

Both Botox and Dysport are key examples of a class of skin and body care medications known as injectables. Unlike conventional skin care solutions in the form of changing personal habits, special cosmetic products, and edible supplements, injectables are chemical treatments that offer an effective and rapid solution by being applied strategically with a needle just under the skin. Just how popular are they today? Well, at least 2.5 million procedures are given to patients per year in the U.S alone.

The two fundamental types of injectables are soft-tissue fillers and neuromodulators. The first kind, fillers, reduce wrinkle lines by literally stretching out specific areas of skin such as the cheeks, lips, forehead, eye hollows, and chin with a sub-dermal filling agent. Otherwise, they’re inert and need to be refreshed every few months on average.

Neuromodulators, on the other hand, temporarily relax facial muscle movement for a certain period of time. By doing this, they reduce the appearance of wrinkles caused by skin movement and also slow down the formation of new creases on your face.

Botox and Dysport: Their Similarities

Both Botox and Dysport are neuromodulators. They work on the muscles and nerves in the face by causing them to relax for the sake of less wrinkle visibility. In this way, they’re actually very similar, and both are created from the Botulinum toxin created by a bacterium called clostridium botulinum. This crucial substance inside both Botox and Dysport is specifically called Botulinum Type A, and in the tiny, controlled dosages in which its applied in both Botox and Dysport, type A works wonders when it comes to removing or reducing wrinkles through nerve signal control.

Both Dysport and Botox are also fully non-invasive treatments that can be done in many outpatient settings or clinical offices without any need for complex recovery or hospital visits. They both work very effectively, but each is used for slightly different reasons.

Dysport and Botox: Their Differences

If both Botox and Dysport contain the exact same botulinum and are applied in the same basic way, you’re probably wondering what the difference between them really is. Simply put, it’s mostly a question of dosage, speed of effectiveness, and specific facial use.

Dysport is basically the much more diluted cousin of Botox, often being several times less concentrated than the older formulation. Because of this and for other related reasons, Dysport works especially well for quickly removing wrinkles across larger areas on the face, such as in forehead lines or the frown lines that can form between your eyebrows. It’s fast-acting, spreads evenly, and works to very neatly resolve broad wrinkle patterns.

Botox, on the other hand, is more commonly recommended for targeted removal of small, fine specific wrinkles such as crow’s feet and lip lines. Despite its higher concentration, Botox tends to be slower moving than Dysport, and its effects can take as long as a week or two to really look great.

With Dysport, this timeframe might be a bit quicker due to how it’s injected into the skin. but the beneficial effects of Dysport sometimes last a bit less than those of Botox. With either treatment, however, you will eventually have to repeat treatment to regain their smoothing effects.

The Bottom Line

Both Dysport and Botox are extremely safe, very non-invasive anti-wrinkle solutions that can make your face smoother in just days. Their main differences are minor, and the two work on the same basic principle with the same main ingredient. To know which one is ideal for your own facial rejuvenation plans, your best option is to consult with a dermal care specialist who can give you a personalized assessment. The professional staff at Southeast Dermatology Specialists can offer exactly this with compassion and deep experience with skin care needs.